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Originally Posted by Fuzzy14
I don't disagree with anything in DoubleF's post. Just be careful in that, if you are concerned about your estate being challenged, the fact that the transfer occurred prior to your passing does not automatically shield your beneficiaries and executors from a possible dispute.
If you have concerns about it, you should talk to a lawyer. They will help you navigate possible appearance of undue influence and, where applicable, how to deal with the presumption of resulting trust. In some situations, if the cost stars align, both tax and administrative, settling an inter vivos trust can be your best option.
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Agreed. Good thing to highlight. But typically you're setting it up so they are sorting it out personally vs the estate being completely stuck with situation in limbo until it gets sorted out (and no one gets anything until it does).
Absolutely yes, talk to a lawyer, but I meant to be aware of it and consider it so that you can chat with a lawyer about it and figure out how to do it right or whether this type of situation is worth investigating for administrative, diplomacy and tax purposes.
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Originally Posted by pseudoreality
It is the estate planning piece that I get hung up on and has delayed me in getting a will.
My wife and I have two young kids. A lot of the will examples I've been shown talk about what happens if we both croak. However, if one of us goes while the kids are underage, I'm assuming all the assets just fall to the other. Is that correct?
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It depends on the situation, but I think it's ultimately still more work than having a will in place. Extra (unnecessary and preventable) work when someone is mourning is a factor to consider.
My understanding for young families is that the asset rollover to a spouse is less of an issue. It's guardianship of the children and asset guardianship for their well being that's the bigger issue. Otherwise, there could be a major issue that needs to be solved that amplifies the stressful situation to the point of being traumatizing vs just crappy to deal with.